The E-Waste Database

🌱 Why does Ukraine play a strategic role? According to NATO, Ukraine “is a global powerhouse in mineral resources, holding approximately 5% of the world’s total”. The World Economic Forum says it is a “top 10 global supplier of mineral resources”. Ukraine has around 20 000 natural deposits and 116 different deposit types. These deposits include 21 of the elements listed on the EU’s list of 30 critical raw materials. Ukraine is considered to be “a key potential supplier of […] metals such as titanium, lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel”. 🌱 What raw materials are there? In April 2023, Forbes Ukraine estimated that Ukraine had 111 billion tonnes of mineral resources. This is mostly coal and iron ore. That said, Ukraine has the largest titanium reserves in Europe and 7% of the global lithium reserves. It is the 5th largest producer of gallium in the world and holds 20% of the global graphite reserves. Ukraine has over 215 000 tons in nickel deposits and over 8800 tons in cobalt deposits. It is also “among the world’s top ten producers of minerals like bromine, magnesium metal manganese, peat, pig iron, and kaolin”. Moreover, Ukraine has one of the largest confirmed lithium reserves in Europe, which is estimated to come in at around 500 000 tons. Additionally, it holds significant reserves of nonferrous metals – including copper (ranked 4th in Europe), lead (5th), zinc (6th), and silver (9th). 🌱 What was Ukraine’s market position before February 2022? Before February 2022, 15% of Ukrainian deposits were actively being exploited. Ukraine used to rank in the “top 10 producers for titanium, zirconium, graphite, and manganese production” globally. Moreover, Ukraine “was a significant supplier of steel plates, titanium, lithium, gallium, iron ore and manganese to Europe” in 2022. In line with this, 43% of steel plate imports to the EU came from Ukraine in 2021. 🌱 How has the invasion impacted mineral exploitation? The Russian invasion has a considerable “strategic and economic dimension”, as it has caused a major disruption to Ukraine’s mineral exploitation and supply routes. Ukraine’s mineral resources are estimated to be worth $14.8 to $26 trillion in total. The 33 million tonnes of lithium ore in Ukraine alone are estimated to be worth $38 billion. Over 70% of Ukraine’s resources are, however, located in the Donetsk, Lugansk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, which are either partly controlled or directly threatened by Russia. By occupying territories, Russia has seized “resources worth $350bn”. Russia has “occupied 63% of Ukrainian coal mines, and half of its manganese, caesium, tantalum and rare earth deposits”. Read more about Ukraine’s raw materials here: - https://www.enseccoe.org/publications/ukraines-resources/ - https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/07/the-future-of-critical-raw-materials-how-ukraine-plays-a-strategic-role-in-global-supply-chains/ - https://unric.org/en/rare-earths-and-strategic-minerals-in-ukraine/ - https://www.geo.gov.ua/wp-content/uploads/presentations/en/critical-minerals-portfolio.pdf - https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250204-rare-earths-for-aid-ukraine-s-minerals-threatened-by-war - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20le8jn282o - https://www.statista.com/chart/33984/ukraines-share-in-selected-global-mineral-commodity-production-reserves/

🌱 Is there progress in extraction capacity? Under the Green Deal, the EU set itself the target to produce at least 10% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials through its own extraction capacity by 2030. In 2022, the EU reached levels above its 10% target for cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel. The EU’s self-sufficiency level is, however, consistently below 2% for bismuth, boron, gallium, germanium, magnesium, natural graphite, titanium, platinum group metals, as well as heavy and light rare earth elements. Similarly, the EU’s self-sufficiency level for manganese was also below the 10% target between 2016 and 2022. 🌱 Is there progress in processing capacity? Under the Green Deal, the EU set itself the target to produce at least 40% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials through its own processing capacity by 2030. In the period from 2011 to 2022, the EU managed to produce over 80% of its annual consumption of copper through its own processing capacity. The EU also met its 40% target for cobalt and germanium in 2022. The EU, however, did not meet its self-sufficiency targets for bismuth, boron, gallium, and the platinum group metals in 2022. Moreover, the EU currently has “no self-sufficiency to process lithium, magnesium, natural graphite, titanium”, as well as heavy and light rare earth elements. 🌱 Is there progress in recycling capacity? Under the Green Deal, the EU set itself the target to produce at least 25% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials through its own recycling capacity by 2030. The EU’s recycling capacity was above the 25% target for copper and tungsten in 2022. Yet, the capacity was only between 5% and 22% for cobalt, magnesium, manganese, nickel, titanium, platinum group metals, as well as heavy and light rare earth elements in 2022. Moreover, the EU’s recycling capacity was under 5% for bismuth, boron, gallium, germanium, lithium, and natural graphite. 🌱 Is there progress in diversifying imports? Under the Green Deal, the EU set itself the target to diversify its imports of strategic raw materials. By 2030, no third country is to account for over 65% of the EU’s annual consumption of any given strategic raw material. There is, however, still a low diversification of sourcing countries. For half of the 16 strategic raw materials, the values are above the 65% target. The materials for which the target is yet to be reached includes “bismuth, gallium, lithium, magnesium, platinum group metals, and both heavy and light rare earth elements”. 🌱 What is needed to meet the targets? Public-private commitments are key for meeting the Green Deal’s targets on critical raw materials. Similarly, tackling market and regulatory fragmentation is essential for accelerating the innovation needed to reach net-zero. Read more about the targets and progress here: - https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC140372 - https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/delivering-european-green-deal-jrc-study-finds-mixed-progress-so-far-2025-02-05_en - https://www.weforum.org/publications/delivering-on-the-european-green-deal-a-private-sector-perspective-second-edition/

🌱 How does the mine violate Indigenous Peoples’ rights? One of the world’s largest known deposits of lithium is located at Thacker Pass in Nevada, USA. Currently, the construction of an 18000-acre (or 72.8 km2) mining project is ongoing at the site. Lithium Americas plans to extract large quantities of lithium here. According to a report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on 6 February 2025, the U.S. government’s decision to issue the mining permit violates Indigenous People’s rights. It is worth noting that Indigenous rights to religion, culture, and ancestral lands are protected under international human rights law. According to HRW and ACLU, at least six Indigenous Tribes have a connection to the land at Thacker Pass. Amongst others, the rights of the Numu/Nuwu and Newe peoples, who find access to the land important for religious and cultural practices, are being violated. The mine has also raised concerns around the right to health, a healthy environment, and water amongst residents. 🌱 Was free, prior, and informed consent received? The average mining permit process has a duration of 3.1 years at U.S. agencies. As the permit process for the mine at Thacker Pass began on 21 January 2020 and ended on 15 January 2021, the process was considerably shorter than average. According to the HRW and ACLU report, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management authorized the permit for the Thacker Pass mine without obtaining free, prior, and informed consent from the relevant Indigenous Tribes. This, in itself, would be a violation of Indigenous People’s rights. In this context, three Tribal governments have said they received “three rounds of mailings” and that this was the only form of “direct contact” about the mine. While the mailings referred to “consultation”, Indigenous leaders did not feel that a real consultation ever took place. According to HRW and ACLU, Lithium Americas proceeded despite direct “opposition from at least five Tribal governments”. Several Tribes tried to “challenge the adequacy of the consultation process” in court after the mining permit was issued, but this was without any success. In the meantime, one Indigenous Tribe – namely the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe – has “signed an agreement with Lithium Americas and issued a letter supporting the mine”. 🌱 What land rights are impacted? The permit for the Thacker Pass mine partially relies on a U.S. mining law from 1872. Under this law, U.S. citizens and companies may “claim mineral rights on most federally owned land”. Notably, most of this land was confiscated from Indigenous Peoples. The Thacker Pass mine itself has luckily not displaced any communities. The construction work has, however, prevented Numu/Nuwu and Newe Indigenous peoples from accessing parts of their lands. Having access to the Peehee Mu’huh land is important to the Numu/Nuwu and Newe for their cultural and religious practices. As the land around Thacker Pass “includes areas where people fled and died during an 1865 US cavalry massacre”, Indigenous Tribes annually commemorate the massacre and pay tribute to their lost ancestors on this land. 🌱 What are human rights defenders calling for? Human rights defenders have called for a halt of the Thacker Pass mine’s construction and a revision of U.S. mining law. They are also calling on the U.S. government to ensure that current and future U.S. mine permit processes fulfill international human rights standards. On 10 January 2025, President Trump stated that his goal was to make the U.S. “the leading producer and processor” of minerals. He instructed the Department of the Interior to “identify all agency actions that impose undue burdens on the domestic mining and processing of […] minerals and undertake steps to revise or rescind such actions”. The broader fast-tracking of mining permits and the waiving of environmental reviews are therefore expected. Human rights defenders hold that the “absence of stronger protections for Indigenous rights, including the right to free, prior, and informed consent, [along with] accelerating and expanding US mineral production threatens the rights of Indigenous peoples to their land, culture, and religion”. In line with this, they are calling on the U.S. government to uphold Indigenous rights and factor in the recommendations of a 2023 interagency working group to reform the 1872 mining law. Read more about the mining project here: - https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/02/06/us-lithium-mine-permit-violates-indigenous-peoples-rights - https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/02/06/land-our-people-forever/united-states-human-rights-violations-against-numu/nuwu - https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2025/02/us_lithiummining0225%20web.pdf - https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/new-report-finds-nevadas-lithium-mine-permit-violates-indigenous-peoples-rights - https://www.aclu.org/documents/the-land-of-our-people-forever-united-states-human-rights-violations-against-the-numu-nuwu-and-newe-in-the-rush-for-lithium - https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/lithium-mine-permit-nevada-violates-indigenous-peoples-rights-mine-permitted-without-free - https://nevadacurrent.com/2025/02/10/lithium-mines-approval-violates-international-human-rights-agreement-says-human-rights-watch/ - https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/02/hrw-us-government-approval-of-nevada-lithium-mine-violates-indigenous-rights/